An assessment of differential supplier category performance in the agro processing industry: A case for supplier development in the Zimbabwean tobacco industry

This study sought to determine whether farm categories influence the key agro business supply chain metric of crop yield. The investigated farm categories are the communal farms, A1 farms, A2 farms, and commercial farms that reflect the agricultural structure that emerged from the post-fast-track land reform programme in Zimbabwe. Secondary data for crop yield was collected from the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board publications of a five-year period spanning from 2014-2018. Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board is the regulatory authority of the Zimbabwean tobacco industry. The study used One-way ANOVA to test the specified hypotheses. A post hoc test was conducted using the Bonferroni procedure. The results indicated that crop yield is a function of the farm category. Communal farms had low crop yield, while A1 farm models proved to be very productive as evidenced by higher crop yield than any other farm category. A2 farms and commercial farms had unexpectedly low crop yield. The study recommended consolidation and transformation of communal areas into small-to-medium plots for the purposes of improving their agricultural viability, while at the same time downsizing the redundant A2 and commercial farms into small scale plots for the purposes of improving their efficiency. The study also recommended entering into resource-providing contract farming with A2 farmers whose current low yield might be due to lack of adequate input resources.